Nahum 2:3-10
International Standard Version
3 The shields deployed by[a] Israel’s[b] elite forces are scarlet,
their valiant men are clothed in crimson.
When they are prepared,
the polished armament on their chariots will shine,
and lances will be brandished about ferociously.[c]
4 Their chariots storm through the streets,
jostling each other along broad avenues.
They look like torches,
as they dart around like lightning.
5 He will remember to summon[d] his finest troops.
They will stumble on their way,
hurrying over to Nineveh’s[e] wall.
Their defensive shield is in place.
6 The river gates will be opened,
and the palace will collapse.
7 It has been determined:
The woman[f] is unveiled and sent away,
her servant girls mourn.
Beating their breasts,
they whimper like doves.
8 Nineveh is a reservoir whose water is draining away.
“Wait! Wait!” they cry,[g]
yet not even one person[h] looks back.
9 Take the silver! Take the gold!
There is no end to the treasure—
fabulous riches of every imagination.
10 Nineveh[i] is devastated, deserted, and desolate.
Her heart melts, her knees knock.
Every stomach is upset,
every face grows pale.[j]
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. shield of
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. its
- Nahum 2:3 The Heb. lacks ferociously
- Nahum 2:5 The Heb. lacks to summon
- Nahum 2:5 The Heb. lacks Nineveh’s
- Nahum 2:7 I.e. Nineveh personified as a woman
- Nahum 2:8 The Heb. lacks they cry
- Nahum 2:8 The Heb. lacks person
- Nahum 2:10 Lit. She; i.e. Nineveh personified as a woman
- Nahum 2:10 Lit. gathers blackness; cf. Joel 2:6b
Nahum 2:3-10
Lexham English Bible
The Enemy Army Conquers the City of Nineveh
3 The shields of his warriors are dyed red;
The powerful men are dressed in scarlet.
The metal of the chariots[a] shines like fire on the day of battle,[b]
and their spears quiver.
4 The chariots[c] race madly through the streets;
they rush back and forth in the public squares.
Their appearance like lightning bolts,
they dart about like flashes of lightning.
5 He calls his officers;
they stumble as they march;
they rush to her wall;
they set the covering[d] in place.
6 The gates of the river are opened;
the palace trembles.
7 Her goddess is taken out and taken into exile;[e]
her maidservants moan like doves;
they beat on their breasts.
8 Nineveh is like a pool of water without its water.[f]
As they flee,[g] she cries, “Stop! Stop!”
But there is no one who turns back.
9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!
There is no end to the spoils,[h]
an abundance of everything one could want![i]
10 Emptiness and plundering and devastation!
Their hearts faint and their knees tremble,[j]
All their loins shake[k] and all their faces turn[l] pale.
Footnotes
- Nahum 2:3 Hebrew “chariot”
- Nahum 2:3 Literally “on the day of his preparation”
- Nahum 2:4 Hebrew “chariot”
- Nahum 2:5 The Hebrew word describes a small portable roof to protect siege warriors from arrows and debris hurled at them from the fortified city wall
- Nahum 2:7 Literally “It is decreed that she be exiled and led away.” MT reads the very enigmatic “And he is placed, she is sent into exile, she is taken up.” The BHS editors suggest the conjectural emendation “And her goddess = the idol of the patron deity of Nineveh is taken and taken into exile.” This is adopted in the translation on the basis of internal evidence
- Nahum 2:8 MT reads “from her days.” Greek LXX and Syriac Peshitta reflect “from her waters”
- Nahum 2:8 Literally “And they flee away”
- Nahum 2:9 Literally “the supply”
- Nahum 2:9 Literally “every kind of desirable object”
- Nahum 2:10 Or “totter”
- Nahum 2:10 Literally “And shaking of all loins”
- Nahum 2:10 Literally “gather”
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